title: A depression rating scale for schizophrenics.
abstract: Scales for assessing depression are well developed for non-psychotic populations but have been criticized for being inappropriate for psychotic populations. As a result we have developed a new rating scale for the measurement of depression in schizophrenia based on items selected from the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and the Present State Examination. The selection was based on a three stage procedure first factor analysis then measures of internal consistency and finally face validity. Ratings of depression were made on 50 acutely ill schizophrenics meeting DSM-III criteria for schizophrenia assessed at two points in time. Our results indicate that several items from both scales form a superior instrument for measuring depression in schizophrenia. The eleven items generated a Cronbach's alpha of 0.84 at time one and 0.89 at time 2.
authors.affiliation: University of Calgary, Department of Psychiatry, Foothills Hospital, Calgary, Canada.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Addington
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Addington
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schissel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology